Kakapo | New Zealand Birds Online Breeding and ecology The kakapo is a large, nocturnal, flightless, lek-breeding parrot – a real oddity. It is also critically endangered, and the focus of considerable conservation attention. Before humans arrived it was common throughout New Zealand’s forests, but predation by introduced mammals brought it to the brink of extinction - a low point of about 50 birds only in the mid 1990s. The transfer of the whole population to predator-free islands and intensive intervention in every stage of its life has led to a steady increase in numbers. Kakapo have no close relatives. Identification A large flightless forest-dwelling parrot, with a pale owl-like face. Kakapo are moss green mottled with yellow and black above, and similar but more yellow below. The bill is grey, and the legs and feet grey with pale soles. Voice: males make a deep booming call (“booming”) and a loud wheezing call (“chinging”) to attract mates to their leks. Both sexes make a loud high pitched skraak call (“skraaking”).

Similar species: kaka and kea are the only species with which kakapo might be confused, but their moss green colour, large size, flightlessness and nocturnal habits make them easy to distinguish. It is also very unlikely that any kakapo exist other than at a few managed sites, and so the chances of misidentification are very low. Distribution and habitat Once found throughout New Zealand, kakapo started declining in range and abundance after the arrival of Maori. They disappeared from the North Island by about 1930, but persisted longer in the wetter parts of the South Island. The last birds died out in Fiordland in the late 1980s. A population of less than two hundred birds was discovered on Stewart Island in 1977, but this population was also declining due to cat predation. During the 1980s and 1990s the entire known population was transferred to Codfish Island off the coast of Stewart Island, Maud Island in the Marlborough Sounds and Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf.

Since then birds have been moved between Codfish, Maud and Little Barrier Islands as well as to and from newly predator-free Chalky and Anchor Islands in Fiordland. Kakapo now occur only on forested islands, though they previously appeared to have inhabited a wide range of vegetation types. Population A total of 125 birds was known in September 2012. All carry radio transmitters and are intensively monitored and managed. It is possible there are a few birds remaining on Stewart Island, and perhaps even a few in Fiordland. Threats and conservation Adult kakapo are vulnerable to predation by cats and stoats, and their eggs and chicks can be killed by rats. Females alone incubate eggs and raise chicks. As they must spend long periods away from the nest feeding, eggs and chicks are particularly vulnerable to predation when the nest is unattended. Chick-rearing is protracted, and nests become smelly and easy for predators to find. Away from nests, kakapo usually freeze and rely on cryptic colouration to hide them from predators. While this strategy worked when the main predators were birds that hunted by sight, it is a completely ineffective strategy to avoid mammalian predators that hunt by smell.

Attempts to protect kakapo from introduced predators by transferring them to Resolution Island in the 1890s failed when stoats swam to the island. In the 1980s and 1990s transfers to completely predator-free Maud Island and to Little Barrier and Codfish Islands which only had kiore halted the kakapo’s decline. However, the population did not start to increase until kiore were removed from the islands and the birds were more intensively managed. Intensive management comprised moving the birds between islands, protecting nests from rats, supplementary feeding adults, closely monitoring eggs and chicks, and rescuing and hand-raising any failing chicks. Kakapo have very low genetic diversity and, as a consequence, low fertility. Much recent conservation management has focussed on managing matings, and using artificial insemination to minimise further genetic loss. Breeding Kakapo breed in summer and autumn, but only in years of good fruit abundance. On islands in southern New Zealand they breed when the rimu trees fruit, which is once every 2 to 4 years. Elsewhere in New Zealand they probably nested when southern beech seeded, but the triggers for breeding in some northern places, including Little Barrier Island, are unknown.

Kakapo are lek breeders. Males call from track-and-bowl systems to attract females for mating. Males play no part in incubation or chick-rearing. The nests are on or under the ground in natural cavities or under dense vegetation. The 1-4 eggs laid in a shallow depression in the soil or rotten wood, which is repeatedly turned-over before and during incubation. Behaviour and ecology Kakapo are nocturnal and solitary, occupying the same home range for many years. They forage on the ground and climb high into trees. They often leap from trees and flap their wings, but at best manage a controlled plummet. Food Kakapo are entirely vegetarian. Their diet includes, leaves, buds, flowers, fern fronds, bark, roots, rhizomes, bulbs, fruit and seeds. Diet varies seasonally. Websites Mission Kākāpō Copulation – a light-hearted look at the extraordinary efforts that have been made by the Department of Conservation's Kākāpō Recovery Team References Atkinson, I.A.E.; Merton, D.V. 2006.

Habitat and diet of kakapo (Strigops habroptilis) in the Esperance Valley, Fiordland, New Zealand. Notornis 53: 37-54. Ballance, A. 2010. Kakapo: rescued from the brink of extinction. Craig Potton Publishing Limited. Butler, D.J. 2006. The habitat, food and feeding ecology of kakapo in Fiordland: a synopsis from the unpublished MSc thesis of Richard Gray. Notornis 53: 55-79. Cockrem, J.F. 2006. The timing of breeding in the kakapo (Strigops habroptilus). Notornis 53: 153-159. Cottam, Y.; Merton, D.V.; Hendriks, W. 2006. Nutrient composition of the diet of parent-raised kakapo nestlings. Notornis 53: 90-99. Eason, D.; Moorhouse, R. 2006.

Hand-rearing kakapo (Strigops habroptilus), 1997-2005. Notornis 53: 116-125. Eason, D.K.; Merton, D.V.; Elliott, G.P.; Jansen, P.W.; Harper, G.A.; Moorhouse, R.J. 2006. Breeding biology of kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) on offshore island sanctuaries, 1990-2002. Notornis 53: 27-36. Elliott, G.P. 2006. A simulation of the future of kakapo. Notornis 53: 164-172. Elliott, G.P.; Eason, D.K.; Jansen, P.W.; Merton, D.V.; Harper, G.A.; Moorhouse, R.J. 2006. Productivity of kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) on offshore island refuges. Notornis 53: 138-142.

Elliott, G.P.; Jansen, P.W.; Merton, D.M. 2001. Intensive management of a critically endangered species: the kakapo. Biological Conservation 99: 121-133 Farrimond, M.; Clout, M.N.; Elliott, G.P. 2006. Home range size of kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) on Codfish Island. Notornis 53: 150-152 Farrimond, M.; Elliott, G.P.; Clout, M.N. 2006. Growth and fledging of kakapo. Notornis 53: 112-115. Harper, G.A.; Elliott, G.P.; Eason, D.K.; Moorhouse, R.J. 2006. What triggers nesting of kakapo (Strigops habroptilus)? Notornis 53: 60-63. Harper, G.A.; Joice, J. 2006. Agonistic display and social interaction between female kakapo (Strigops habroptilus).

Notornis 53: 195-197. Higgins, P.J. (ed.) 1999. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic birds. Vol. 4, parrots to dollarbird. Oxford University Press, Melbourne. Jansen, P.W. 2006. Kakapo recovery: the basis of decision-making. Notornis 53: 184-190. Powlesland, R.G.; Cockrem, J.F.; Merton, D.V. 2006. A parrot apart: the natural history of the kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) and the context of its conservation management. Notornis 53: 3-26. Raubenheimer, D.; Simpson, S.J. 2006. The challenge of supplementary feeding: can geometric analysis help save the kakapo. Notornis 53: 100-111. Robertson, B.C. 2006. The role of genetics in kakapo recovery. Notornis 53: 173-183. Tipa, R.

2006. Kakapo in Maori lore. Notornis 53: 193-194. Walsh, J.; Wilson, K.-J.; Elliott, G.P. 2006. Seasonal changes in home range and habitat selection by kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) on Maud Island. Notornis 53: 143-149. Wilson, D.J.; Grant, A.D.; Parker, N. 2006. Diet of kakapo in breeding and non-breeding years on Codfish Island (Whenua Hou) and Stewart Island. Notornis 53: 80-89. Wood, J.R. 2006. Subfossil kakapo (Strigops habroptilus) remains from near Gibraltar Rock, Cromwell Gorge, Central Otago, New Zealand. Notornis 53: 191-193. Recommended citation BBC Nature - Kakapo videos, news and facts Wild Down Under The world's slowest breeding bird is in intensive care.

The arrival of man and introduced species has been devastating to many of New Zealand's local birds. Kakapos, flightless relatives of the kea, are the world's largest, and slowest-breeding parrot and the islands off New Zealand are their last refuge. Scientists give round the clock care on the entire population in an effort to ensure their survival. Habitats The following habitats are found across the Kakapo distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them. Broadleaf forest Broadleaf forests are the dominant habitat of the UK and most of temperate northern Europe. There's little left of Britain's ancient wildwood, but isolated pockets of oak, beech and mixed deciduous and evergreen woodlands are scattered across the continent, and dictate its biodiversity. Behaviours Classified by: IUCN 3.1 About The kakapo (Māori: kākāpō or night parrot), Strigops habroptilus (Gray, 1845), also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the super-family Strigopoidea endemic to New Zealand.

It has finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc of sensory, vibrissa-like feathers, a large grey beak, short legs, large feet, and wings and a tail of relatively short length. A combination of traits make it unique among its kind; it is the world's only flightless parrot, the heaviest parrot, nocturnal, herbivorous, visibly sexually dimorphic in body size, has a low basal metabolic rate and no male parental care, and is the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system. It is also possibly one of the world's longest-living birds. Its anatomy typifies the tendency of bird evolution on oceanic islands, with few predators and abundant food: a generally robust physique, with accretion of thermodynamic efficiency at the expense of flight abilities, reduced wing muscles, and a diminished keel on the sternum. Like many other New Zealand bird species, the kakapo was historically important to the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, appearing in many of their traditional legends and folklore.

It was hunted and used as a resource by Māori, both for its meat as a food source and for its feathers, which were used to make highly valued pieces of clothing. It was also sometimes kept as a pet. The kakapo is critically endangered; as of June 2016, the total known adult population was 154living individuals, as reported by the Kakapo Recovery programme, most of which have been given names. Because of Polynesian and European colonisation and the introduction of predators such as cats, rats, ferrets, and stoats, the kakapo was almost wiped out. Conservation efforts began in the 1890s, but they were not very successful until the implementation of the Kakapo Recovery plan in the 1980s. As of April 2012, surviving kakapo are kept on three predator-free islands, Codfish (Whenua Hou), Anchor and Little Barrier islands, where they are closely monitored. Two large Fiordland islands, Resolution and Secretary, have been the subject of large-scale ecological restoration activities to prepare self-sustaining ecosystems with suitable habitat for the kakapo. The New Zealand government is providing the use of these islands to kakapo conservation.

Kakapo | All Species Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Critically Endangered The Kakapo (Māori: kākāpō, night parrot), also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot endemic to New Zealand . It has finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc of sensory, vibrissa-like feathers, a large grey beak, short legs, large feet, and wings and a tail of relatively short length. A certain combination of traits makes it unique among its kind; it is the world's only flightless parrot, the heaviest parrot, nocturnal, herbivorous, visibly sexually dimorphic in body size, has a low basal metabolic rate, no male parental care, and is the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system. It is also possibly one of the world's longest-living birds. The Kakapo is critically endangered. Because of Polynesian and European colonisation and the introduction of predators such as cats, rats, ferrets, and stoats, the Kakapo was almost wiped out.

Contents Edit The Kakapo is a large, rotund parrot; the male measures up to 60 cm (24 in) and weighs from 2 to 4 kg (4 to 9 lb) at maturity. The Kakapo cannot fly, having short wings for its size and lacking the pronounced keel bone (sternum) that anchors the flight muscles of other birds. It uses its wings for balance, support, and to break its fall when leaping from trees. Unlike other land birds, the Kakapo can accumulate large amounts of body fat to store energy, making it the heaviest parrot. The upper parts of the Kakapo have yellowish moss-green feathers barred or mottled with black or dark brownish grey, blending well with native vegetation. Individuals may have strongly varying degrees of mottling and colour tone and intensity – museum specimens show that some birds had completely yellow colouring. The breast and flank are yellowish-green streaked with yellow. The belly, undertail, neck and face are predominantly yellowish, streaked with pale green and weakly mottled with brownish-grey. Because the feathers do not need the strength and stiffness required for flight, they are exceptionally soft.

The Kakapo has a conspicuous facial disc of fine feathers, resembling the face of an owl; thus, early European settlers called it the "owl parrot". The beak is surrounded by delicate vibrissae or "whiskers", which the bird uses to sense the ground for navigation as it walks with its head lowered. The mandible is mostly ivory-coloured, with part of the upper mandible being bluish-grey. The eyes are dark brown. Kakapo feet are large, scaly, and, as in all parrots, zygodactyl (two toes face forward and two backward). The pronounced claws are particularly useful for climbing. The ends of the tail feathers often become worn from being continually dragged on the ground. The female is easily distinguished from the male: she has a more narrow and less domed head, her beak is narrower and proportionally longer, her cere and nostrils smaller, her legs and feet more slender and pinkish grey, and her tail proportionally longer. While her plumage colour is not very different from that of the male, the toning is more subtle, with less yellow and mottling. She tends to resist more and be more aggressive than the male when handled.

A nesting female also has a brood patch on the bare skin of the belly. Like many parrots, the Kakapo has a variety of calls. As well as the booms and chings of their mating calls, it will often skraark to announce its location to other birds. The Kakapo has a well-developed sense of smell, which complements its nocturnal lifestyle. It can discriminate among odours while foraging; a behaviour reported for only one other parrot species. One of the most striking characteristics of the Kakapo is its pleasant and powerful odour, which has been described as musty. Given the Kakapo's well-developed sense of smell, this scent may be a social chemosignal. The smell often alerts predators to the largely defenceless Kakapo. Anatomy Edit The skeleton of the Kakapo differs from other parrots in several features associated with flightlessness. Firstly, it has the smallest relative wing size of any parrot. Its wing feathers are shorter, more rounded, less asymmetrical, and have fewer distal barbules to lock the feathers together. The sternum is small, and has a low, vestigial, keel, and a shortened spina externa.

As in other flightless birds and some other flighted parrots, the furcula is not fused, but consists of a pair of clavicles lying in contact with each coracoid. As in other flightless birds, the angle between the coracoid and sternum is enlarged. The Kakapo has a larger pelvis than other parrots. The proximal bones of the leg and arm are disproportionately long and the distal elements are disproportionately short. The pectoral musculature of the Kakapo is also modified by flightlessness. The pectoralis and supracoracoideus muscles are greatly reduced. The propatagialis tendo longus has no distinct muscle belly. The sternocoracoideus is tendinous. There is an extensive cucularis capitis clavicularis muscle that is associated with the large crop. Ecology and behavior Edit It seems that the Kakapo – like many of New Zealand's bird species – has evolved to occupy an ecological niche normally filled by various species of mammal (the only non-marine mammals native to New Zealand are three species of small bats ). Before the arrival of humans, the Kakapo was distributed throughout the three main islands of New Zealand.

It lived in a variety of habitats, including tussocklands, scrublands and coastal areas. It also inhabited forests, including those dominated by podocarps (rimu, matai, kahikatea, totara), beeches, tawa, and rata. In Fiordland, areas of avalanche and slip debris with regenerating and heavily fruiting vegetation – such as five finger, wineberry, bush lawyer, tutu, hebes, and coprosmas – became known as "Kakapo gardens". The Kakapo is primarily nocturnal; it roosts under cover in trees or on the ground during the day and moves around its territories at night. Though the Kakapo cannot fly, it is an excellent climber, ascending to the crowns of the tallest trees. It can also "parachute" – descending by leaping and spreading its wings. In this way it may travel a few metres (yards) at an angle of less than 45 degrees. Having lost the ability to fly, it has developed strong legs.

Movement is often by way of a rapid "jog-like" gait by which it can move many kilometres.[17] A female has been observed making two return trips each night during nesting from her nest to a food source up to 1 km (0.6 mi) away[23] and the male may walk from its home range to a mating arena up to 5 km (3 mi) away during the mating season (October–January).[24] Young birds indulge in play fighting, and one bird will often lock the neck of another under its chin. The Kakapo is curious by nature and has been known to interact with humans. Conservation staff and volunteers have engaged extensively with some Kakapo, which have distinct personalities. The Kakapo was a very successful species in pre-human New Zealand, and one of the reasons for this was their set of adaptations to effectively avoid predation from native birds of prey, which were their only predators in the past. However, these same behaviours have been of no use to them when faced with the mammalian predators which were introduced to New Zealand after human settlement, because these hunt in different ways.

As hunters, birds behave very differently from mammals, relying on their powerful vision to find prey, and thus they usually (with the exception of owls) hunt by day. Apart from the two surviving New Zealand raptors, the New Zealand Falcon and Swamp Harrier , there were two other birds of prey in pre-human New Zealand: Haast's Eagle and Eyles' Harrier . All four species soared overhead searching for prey in daylight, and to avoid these avian predators, the Kakapo's ancestors adopted camouflaged plumage and became nocturnal. In addition, when the Kakapo feels threatened, it freezes, so that it is more effectively camouflaged in the forest vegetation which their plumage resembles. It was not entirely safe at night, when the Laughing Owl was active, and it is apparent from their nest deposits on Canterbury limestone cliffs that the Kakapo was among their prey. Mammalian predators, in contrast to birds, rely on their sense of smell and hearing to find prey and often hunt by night. The Kakapo's adaptations to avoid avian predation have thus been useless against its new enemies – this is one of the reasons for its massive decline since the introduction of dogs , cats and mustelids .

Diet Edit The beak of the Kakapo is adapted for grinding food finely. For this reason, the Kakapo has a very small gizzard compared to other birds of their size. It is generally herbivorous, eating native plants, seeds, fruits, pollen and even the sapwood of trees. A study in 1984 identified 25 plant species as Kakapo food. It is particularly fond of the fruit of the rimu tree , and will feed on it exclusively during seasons when it is abundant. The Kakapo has a distinctive habit of grabbing a leaf or frond with a foot and stripping the nutritious parts of the plant out with its beak, leaving a ball of indigestible fiber. These little clumps of plant fibres are a distinctive sign of the presence of the bird. The Kakapo is believed to employ bacteria in the foregut to ferment and help digest plant matter. Kakapo diet changes according to the season.

The plants eaten most frequently during the year include some species of Lycopodium ramulosum , Lycopodium fastigium , Schizaea fistulosa , Blechnum minus , Blechnum procerum , Cyathodes juniperina , Dracophyllum longifolium , Olearia colensoi and Thelymitra venosa . Individual plants of the same species are often treated differently. The Kakapo leaves conspicuous evidence of their feeding activities, from 10×10 m (30×30 ft) to 50×100 m (160×300 ft) feeding ground areas. Manuka and yellow silver pine scrubs are obvious signs of its centre of feeding activities. Reproduction Shagged by a Kakapo A kakapo attempting to mate with a human The Kakapo is the only species of flightless parrot in the real world, and the only flightless bird that has a lek breeding system. Males loosely gather in an arena and compete with each other to attract females. Females listen to the males as they display, or "lek".

They choose a mate based on the quality of his display; they are not pursued by the males in any overt way. No pair bond is formed; males and females meet only to mate. During the courting season, males leave their home ranges for hilltops and ridges where they establish their own mating courts. These leks can be up to 7 kilometres (4 mi) from a Kakapo's usual territory and are an average of 50 metres (160 ft) apart within the lek arena. Males remain in the region of their court throughout the courting season. At the start of the breeding season, males will fight to try to secure the best courts. They confront each other with raised feathers, spread wings, open beaks, raised claws and loud screeching and growling. Fighting may leave birds with injuries or even kill them. Each court consists of one or more saucer-shaped depressions or "bowls" dug in the ground by the male, up to 10 centimetres (4 in) deep and long enough to fit the half-metre length of the bird. The Kakapo is one of only a handful of birds in the world which actually constructs its leks.

Bowls are often created next to rock faces, banks, or tree trunks to help reflect sound - the bowls themselves function as amplifiers to enhance the projection of the males' booming mating calls. Each male's bowls are connected by a network of trails or tracks which may extend 50 metres (160 ft) along a ridge or 20 metres (60 ft) in diameter around a hilltop. Males meticulously clear their bowls and tracks of debris. One way researchers check whether bowls are visited at night is to place a few twigs in the bowl; if the male visits overnight, he will pick them up in his beak and toss them away. To attract females, males make loud, low-frequency (below 100 Hz) booming calls from their bowls by inflating a thoracic sac. They start with low grunts, which increase in volume as the sac inflates. After a sequence of about 20 loud booms, the male Kakapo emits a high frequency, metallic "ching" sound. He stands for a short while before again lowering his head, inflating his chest and starting another sequence of booms.

The booms can be heard at least one kilometre (0.6 mi) away on a still night; wind can carry the sound at least five kilometres (3 mi). Males boom for an average of eight hours a night; each male may produce thousands of booms in this time. This may continue every night for three or four months during which time the male may lose half his body weight. Each male moves around the bowls in his court so that the booms are sent out in different directions. These booms are also notorious for attracting predators, because of the long range at which they can be heard. Females are attracted by the booms of the competing males; they too may need to walk several kilometres from their territories to the arena. Once a female enters the court of one of the males, the male performs a display in which he rocks from side to side and makes clicking noises with his beak. He turns his back to the female, spreads his wings in display and walks backwards towards her. The duration of attempted copulation is between 2 to 14 minutes. Once the birds have mated, the female returns to her home territory to lay eggs and raise the chicks. The male continues booming in the hope of attracting another female.

The female Kakapo lays 1-2 eggs (rarely 3) per breeding cycle, with long intervals between laying of first and second eggs. She nests on the ground under the cover of plants or in cavities such as hollow tree trunks. The female incubates the eggs faithfully, but is forced to leave them every night in search of food. Predators are known to eat the eggs and the embryos inside can also die of cold in the mother's absence. Kakapo eggs usually hatch within 30 days, bearing fluffy grey chicks that are quite helpless. After the eggs hatch, the female feeds the chicks for three months, and the chicks continue to remain with the female for some months after fledging. The young chicks are just as vulnerable to predators as the eggs, and young have been killed by many of the same predators that attack adults. Chicks leave the nest at approximately 10 to 12 weeks of age. As they gain greater independence, their mothers may feed the chicks sporadically for up to 6 months. Because the Kakapo is long-lived, with an average life expectancy of 95 years and the maximum at about 120 years, it tends to have an adolescence before it starts breeding.

Males do not start to boom until about 5 years of age. It was thought that females reach sexual maturity at 9 years of age; but this idea was debunked in the 2008 breeding season when two 6-year-old females named Apirama and Rakiura laid eggs. Generally females do not seek out males until they are between 9 and 11 years old. The Kakapo does not breed every year and has one of the lowest rates of reproduction among birds. Breeding occurs only in years when trees mast (fruit heavily), providing a plentiful food supply. Rimu mast occurs only every three to five years, so in rimu-dominant forests such as those on Codfish Island, Kakapo breeding occurs as infrequently. Another interesting aspect of the Kakapo's breeding system is that a female can alter the sex ratio of her offspring depending on her condition. A female who eats protein-rich foods produces more male offspring (males have 3%–40% more body weight than females). Females produce offspring biased toward the dispersive sex when competition for resources (such as food) is high and toward the non-dispersive sex when food is plentiful.

A female Kakapo will likely be able to produce eggs even when there are few resources, while a male Kakapo will be more capable of perpetuating the species when there are plenty, by mating with several females. This supports the Trivers–Willard hypothesis. The relationship between clutch sex ratio and maternal diet has conservation implications, because a captive population maintained on a high quality diet will produce fewer females and therefore fewer individuals valuable to the recovery of the species. Hunt For The Last Kakapo Hunt For The Last Kakapo The search is on for the last Kakapos. The Kakapo (Māori: kākāpō, meaning night parrot), Strigops habroptila (Gray, 1845), also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless nocturnal parrot endemic to New Zealand. It has finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc of sensory, vibrissa-like feathers, a large grey beak, short legs, large feet, and wings and a tail of relatively short length.

A certain combination of traits makes it unique among its kind—it is the world’s only flightless parrot, the heaviest parrot, nocturnal, herbivorous, visibly sexually dimorphic in body size, has a low basal metabolic rate, no male parental care, and is the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system. It is also possibly one of the world’s longest-living birds. Its anatomy typifies the tendency of bird evolution on oceanic islands, with few predators and abundant food: a generally robust physique, with accretion of thermodynamic efficiency at the expense of flight abilities, reduced wing muscles, and a diminished keel on the sternum. The Kakapo is critically endangered; as of February 2012, only 127 living individuals are known, most of which have been given names. Because of Polynesian and European colonisation and the introduction of predators such as cats, rats, ferrets, and stoats, the Kakapo was almost wiped out. Conservation efforts began in the 1890s, but they were not very successful until the implementation of the Kakapo Recovery Plan in the 1980s.

The conservation of the Kakapo has made the species well known. Many books and documentaries detailing the plight of the Kakapo have been produced in recent years, one of the earliest being Two in the Bush, made by Gerald Durrell for the BBC in 1962. A feature length documentary, The Unnatural History of the Kakapo won two major awards at the Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival. Two of the most significant documentaries, both made by NHNZ, are Kakapo – Night Parrot (1982) and To Save the Kakapo (1997). The BBC’s Natural History Unit also featured the Kakapo, including a sequence with Sir David Attenborough in The Life of Birds. It was also one of the endangered animals that Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine set out to find for the radio series and book Last Chance to See. An updated version of the series has been produced for BBC TV, in which Stephen Fry and Carwardine revisit the animals to see how they are getting on almost 20 years later, and in January 2009, they spent time filming the Kakapo on Codfish Island.

Footage of a kakapo named Sirocco attempting to mate with Cawardine’s head was viewed by millions worldwide, leading to Sirocco becoming “spokesbird” for New Zealand wildlife conservation in 2010, as part of the International Year of Biodiversity. The kakapo was featured in the documentary series South Pacific (renamed Wild Pacific) episode Strange Evolutions, originally aired on June 13, 2009. The Kakapo, like many other New Zealand bird species, was historically important to the Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand, appearing in many of their traditional legends and folklore. It was hunted and used as a resource by Māori, both for its meat as a food source and for its feathers, which were used to make highly valued pieces of clothing. It was also sometimes kept as a pet. Now this 2012 effort is underway to find them in their old locations: They are calling it the search for the last kakapo. A Conservation Department (DOC) team flew to Fiordland – the endangered birds’ last mainland stronghold – in the hope of finding evidence of their existence in historic breeding areas.

The trip was sparked by a credible-sounding report from trampers that the ground-dwelling parrot’s distinctive “booming”, or mating call, was heard in the remote Transit Valley, near Milford Sound, on New Year’s Day. If audio recorders left on the valley’s rugged ridgelines pick up further booming, it will be the first confirmed sign of kakapo on mainland New Zealand for decades. Kakapo Recovery Programme manager Deidre Vercoe Scott said the mission was a long shot, but the discovery of new birds would be significant for the population’s recovery. Once threatened with extinction by stoats, ferrets, weasels and cats, the kakapo is now threatened by poor genetics. All but three of the remaining 126 birds, living on two predator-free islands, originate solely from Stewart Island stock. Read more, here . “The species seemed doomed until the discovery of about 200 kakapo on Stewart Island in 1977. However, numbers continued to drop, hitting a low of 51 in 1995,” ends the article. Thanks for the news tip from Brad Wolfe.

TerraNature | New Zealand Ecology - Kakapo Kakapo "A kakapo has slowly been nursed back to health at Auckland Zoo after his body weight nearly halved from lead poisoning..." New Zealand Herald "Critically endangered kakapo are having a good year.

Five chicks hatching in the last two weeks have boosted the population..." New Zealand Herald "Demand is expected to be high as one of the least viewed animals on Earth goes on public display in New Zealand for the first time..." New Zealand Herald "The first artificial insemination of one of New Zealand's rarest birds could begin as early as this year after the last great kakapo hunt ended in failure..." New Zealand Herald "The kiwi and kakapo are two of the species that would be most at threat from a bird flu outbreak reaching this country..." New Zealand Herald "A mission to find a critically endangered New Zealand bird in the wild is being given a one-in-five chance..." New Zealand Herald "An aggressive male kakapo has been banished after it assaulted a kakapo chick in one of the acclimatisation pens on isolated Codfish Island..." New Zealand Herald "Kakapo are not having enough sex and the Department of Conservation aims to do something about it." New Zealand Herald "Two months ago the world could boast just 62 kakapo, the world's rarest parrot.

Today that number has risen by a third, to 84 birds, thanks to a bumper brood of chicks ..." BBC NEWS 20 March 2002 The kakapo is one of the most outrageously funny, loving and strangest birds in a land renowned for unusual creatures. Life moves very slowly for the kakapo - it seems locked in another time. It is slow to breed and lives longer than any other bird. It has hung on, with no known female it was effectively extinct for three-quarters of the 20th century, and dangerously close to extinction during the last quarter century. For three decades, kakapo have had help in the most extensive protected breeding programme, which has increased the population from the low point of 51 birds to 103. KAKAPO The kakapo Strigops habroptilus belongs to the family Strigopidae of New Zealand parrots, which has only two other members, the kea Nestor notabilus and kaka N. meridionalis. The Strigopidae family is one of three in the Psittaciformes order of parrots. The kakapo is the only species the genus Strigops.

Its' combination of biological features is not found in any other species. It is endemic to New Zealand - so unique it is a 'national treasure'. Kakapo were once abundant throughout New Zealand. West Coast explorer Charlie Douglas said "birds used to be in dozens round the camp, screeching and yelling like a lot of demons, and at times it was impossible to sleep for the noise ... you could shake a tree and the kakapo would fall down like apples". Many workers in the bush lived on the delicious, fruity white meat that is as good as any farm raised fowl. Maori enthusiastically hunted kakapo, and the dogs and kiore they introduced cut a further swathe through the population. Kakapo had pretty much disappeared from the North Island by the time Europeans settled in the 19th century. By 1890 kakapo could not be found in the North Island, and were in serious decline in the South Island. When kakapo were only in remote wilderness, they remained vulnerable to introduced stoats, the number one enemy that eats eggs and chicks of New Zealand's endangered birds. It is most puzzling to see a bird that cannot fly perched high in a tree.

Kakapo are accomplished climbers, using their wings for balance, and their beak and strong claws to pull and grip their way up and down trees and vines. When roosting they are difficult to see, even at just an arms length. Mottled green plumage that resembles moss provides perfect camouflage. As kakapo sit perfectly motionless it may only be the blink of an eye that gives them away. This would have helped them avoid attack from the only potential native predator, the extinct giant Haast's eagle. Since human settlement, the strong musty smell of kakapo, which can be described as sweet smelling like honey or flowerlike, has made it easy for introduced mammal predators to find them. The world's heaviest, and only flightless, nocturnal parrot ..... Kakapo hold quite a few world records. It is the only flightless parrot, and the only nocturnal parrot. And it is the world's heaviest parrot, with males weighing up to 4 kg. Females are 65 percent of the weight of males. The kakapo is not biologically close to other parrot species.

Sometimes called the night parrot, or owl-parrot, it has some features of an owl, such as fur-like discs around its' eyes, and soft feathers. Kakapo have an estimated life span of 80 to 100 years, possibly the longest of any bird. It should also go on record as the gentlest, most peaceful, adorable creature. Kakapo in the wild are remarkably friendly towards humans. Some early settlers kept kakapo as pets, finding them better company, more affectionate, funnier, sweeter smelling, and more intelligent than a cat or dog. Kakapo in the wild will climb up a person's leg and arm to perch on the shoulder, and then provide hair preening and a gentle ear nibble. Unfortunately kakapo are not afraid of predators. They could mame a stoat with their strong legs and feet, but remain passive towards them. The kakapo's naive trust and tasty flesh made it easy game for Maori and European settler cooking pots. Richard Henry is the last remaining kakapo of the males found in Fiordland in the mid-1970s.

He is now more than 50 years old, and has fathered three chicks in two years, providing a valuable addition to the gene pool on Codfish Island which is predominated by the Stewart Island population. Inbreeding is thought to be a significant reason for the kakapo's low fertilty rate. Image Crown Copyright © Department of Conservation The incredible mating ritual of kakapo ..... View larger image Male kakapo booming, Stewart Island 1980s. Ralph Powlesland, Crown Copyright © Department of Conservation The kakapo is the only parrot with an inflatable thoracic air sac. The male puffs up his entire body to the size of a basketball, and will remain in this state throughout the night. He booms while sitting in a half-metre-wide bowl in the ground, rotating his body to broadcast the courtship to the whole area. The booming rate is as much as 15 or 16 times a minute, and may continue for 17 hours. The courtship calling will extend for a period of up to four months in a breeding year. Kakapo donations to Terra Nature Fund will be applied to predator control, assisted breeding, monitoring, and translocations by the Dept of Conservation.

Donations to Terra Nature Fund may be tax deductible in the United States, whereas gifts directly to New Zealand organisations are not. Images above and left: Crown Copyright © Department of Conservation Learn what makes New Zealand birds so unusual and what's being done to preserve them. North Island saddleback female, close up of head, Whatupuke Island Wings but can't fly?!? There are many reasons why the birdlife of New Zealand is remarkable and special, and even subject to lots of attention from the rest of the world. A lot of it has to do with the lack of that power that makes a bird a bird – the ability to fly! Flying uses a lot of energy, but most birds do it, and it increases the types of food they can eat, as well as enabling them to access insects and fruit at the tops of trees. It also helps them to escape from predators, and this is the key to why so many birds in New Zealand evolved to either lose the ability to fly, or not do it very well. Because there were no mammals present in New Zealand able to eat a bird or an egg, and with plenty of good food on or near the ground; many species gradually lost the power of flight.

Our rarest birds Flightlessness is only one characteristic contributing to the uniqueness of our bird fauna. Many New Zealand birds are also very long-lived, and have slow breeding rates, as well as small clutch sizes and large eggs. Several species are nocturnal, and others have a large body size. All these features have contributed to their extinction or decline. Moa, adzebills, giant eagle and tiny wrens are all gone forever. Extinction rates for birds in New Zealand are high - 34% of endemic land and freshwater birds and 5% of sea birds. Birds that had evolved to live on the ground had no defences against the ravages of predators, nor habitat loss. Even now, 37% of our bird species are considered threatened. The most recent extinction was the huia in 1907; the takahe was thought to be extinct until small numbers were rediscovered in the Murchison Mountains of Fiordland in 1948; and the kaki/black stilt, with around 100 adults remaining, is on the edge.

Chatham Island snipe and pigeon, black robin, and fairy tern are in the top 10 list of New Zealand's rarest birds - no population exceeds 150 individuals. The key significance is the high number of endemic species in New Zealand. Endemic means that they breed nowhere else in the world, only in NZ, therefore if they are at risk, they are gone forever. Helping hand Department of Conservation (DOC) staff are involved in intensive and complex work: to intervene with different species to ensure their survival. Birds like hihi/stitchbird are transferred to various offshore islands to build up new populations in predator-free habitats; others like the kaki/black stilt and takahe are reared in captivity and then released into managed environments. DOC staff are involved in on-site breeding and manipulation programmes for many species, like pateke and kakapo; and there is a huge effort associated with eradication of predators in many areas to protect many species, such as kokako, mohua and kiwi. DOC's hard work is reaping rewards. Some species are still only just managing to hold their own, but others have thrived.

For example, since saddlebacks have been successfully relocated to nine different islands their numbers have increased tenfold, to 5000. Case study – the kakapo story The flightless, nocturnal kakapo, heavyweight of the parrots, remains one of the most endangered birds in the world despite years of intensive management. Remote, forest-covered, offshore islands provide the only safe refuges from cats, stoats, rats and habitat loss - all enemies of kakapo. Efforts to reverse the decline of kakapo began as early as the 1950s. In 1995 – when just 51 birds were left – DOC’s national kakapo team was established to focus recovery efforts through a Recovery Plan. By 2008, a 78% increase in the total population had occurred. Many very dedicated people work hard to help kakapo. For several months of the year, kakapo are given supplementary food. Trapping is undertaken to ensure the island refuges remain pest-free. In the years when kakapo breed, eggs are often artificially incubated and chicks may be hand-raised, which are both very labour-intensive processes. New ideas and techniques that might ensure a better future for the species is being researched.

Currently, genetic studies and avian nutrition are the main areas of focus. Bred in captivity – kaki/black stilt Attempts to save the kaki/black stilt from extinction began in the late 1970s. At first they were bred in captivity at the Pukaha Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre; now over a hundred eggs a season are hatched at three aviaries in Twizel, and all the chicks are hand-reared. Despite intensive trapping and electric fences to protect kaki from predators they are still unable to successfully nest and fledge chicks in the wild. Captive breeding is thus a vital tool in the recovery of this species, as it is for a number of other birds, such as whio/blue duck, pateke, and shore plover. You can help

Question: What kind of bird is a kakapo, which is endemic to New Zealand?
Answer: Parrot